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James Harp moved into the St. John's neighborhood in Joliet just this past September.

But he takes as much pride in his surroundings as if he was a longtime resident. That's why he attended the St. John's Neighborhood Organization annual cleanup day May 19.

"It's a good thing to do, to be involved with the community," Harp said.

[Denise M. Baran–Unland - dunland@shawmedia.com]

A group of about 40 volunteers of all ages came together at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties at 10 a.m. to spend two hours raking and picking up litter around the areas near the Cathedral of St. Raymond and St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.

Above, Under the watchful eye of her father Kyle Bledsoe, Julie Bledsoe, 5, puts her entire concentration into picking up a piece of trash on May 19, the annual clean-up day for St. John's Neighborhood Organization. Kyle is a neighborhood police officer .

[Denise M. Baran–Unland - dunland@shawmedia.com]

That's exactly why "Big Brother" Omar Castillo of Romeoville was there with his "Little Brother" David Sanchez of Joliet, both pictured in the background.

"Because it's good to help out," Castillo said.

Among the volunteers was Among them was Terry Higgins, a member of the Joliet Police Department's Neighborhood Oriented Policing Team. Higgins said he was present "to make sure no one has any issues."

But Higgins didn't rule out helping out, either.

"I've been known to get my hands dirty," Higgins said with a smile.

[Denise M. Baran–Unland - dunland@shawmedia.com]

Neighborhood resident Charlie Sullivan attended for the same reason. He stressed the beauty of the area and the need to keep it so.

"Just because it's an old neighborhood," Sullivan said, "doesn't mean it has to look like a ghetto."

Fran Morgan, pictured above, happily signed up volunteers and directed them to water bottles and boxes of doughnuts from Home Cut Donuts in Joliet.
"
I can't walk very well," Morgan said. "But I still wanted to volunteer and help where needed."

[Denise M. Baran–Unland - dunland@shawmedia.com]

Included among the volunteers were the St. John's Neighborhood Group, members of Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Cathedral Area Preservation Association, JPD explorers, the Neighborhood Oriented Policing Team and members of the Cathedral of St. Raymond School for what organizers billed as the "ultimate neighborhood cleanup," according to organiziers Candace Johnson and Sara Stovall.

Johnson has lived in the St. John's neighborhood since 1997. Stovall moved there in 2010. Both women also manage apartments in the neighborhood. For the past six years, Johnson and Stovall have co-led the St. John's Neighborhood Organization, which meets monthly and has 50 members, Johnson said.

But the event is more than striving for physical beautification, Johnson said.

[Denise M. Baran–Unland - dunland@shawmedia.com]

"It's to unite the community again," Johnson said.

That's one of the main reasons why Juliet Johns, a neighborhood resident pictured above with John Frazier, participated.

"It's a way of getting all of us together at least one time a year," Johns said.

[Denise M. Baran–Unland - dunland@shawmedia.com]

Many times, when people think of the St. John's area, they think of the problems at the former Evergreen Terrace housing complex, Stovall said, rather unfair for a quiet neighborhood with so much character and history, she added.

(Above, resident James Harp picks up trash off Taylor Street in Joliet).

[Denise M. Baran–Unland - dunland@shawmedia.com]

"It has a lot of old limestone homes and you can hear the chimes from St. John's church," Stovall said. "It has that 'old neighborhood' feel. It makes you feel like you're in a different time."

[Denise M. Baran–Unland - dunland@shawmedia.com]

In fact, Norveea Clark, who also lives in St. John's neighborhood, feels residents take good care of the area, which she learned at last year's cleanup event.

[Denise M. Baran–Unland - dunland@shawmedia.com]

"There wasn't that much trash to pickup," Clark said. "I was shocked."

(Above, John Frazier picks up litter near the site of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties).